defer to

phrasal verb

deferred to; deferring to; defers to

1

: to allow (someone else) to decide or choose something

You have more experience with this, so I'm going to defer to you.

deferring to the experts

2

defer to (something) : to agree to follow (someone else's decision, a tradition, etc.)

The court defers to precedent in cases like these.

He deferred to his parents' wishes.

Examples of defer to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During the question and answer portion, where constituents primarily focused on the impacts of growth on District 3’s infrastructure, Brown deferred to staff or offered to follow up with residents individually to provide a more detailed answer to their questions. —Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 29 May 2025

When asked about it at a news conference, Mayor Eric Adams deferred to the federal government. —NBC news, 28 May 2025

Published in Nature Scientific Data, the research provides critical insights into how fraud detection systems can better defer to human judgment when the stakes are high. —Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office deferred to FHP, the lead investigating agency. —Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 20 May 2025

Rhymes for defer to

• amadou
• avenue
• ballyhoo
• baraboo
• barbecue
• barbeque
• bugaboo
• cabildo
• caribou
• cockatoo
• detinue
• devalue